


Not Again

by f0rever15elf



Series: We'll Get Through This Together [2]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Pedro Pascal - Freeform, Swearing, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27094795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f0rever15elf/pseuds/f0rever15elf
Summary: You had thought things were improving after the last big fight you had with Marcus, but little did you know what was simmering behind those beautiful brown eyes.
Relationships: Marcus Pike/ Reader, Marcus Pike/ You
Series: We'll Get Through This Together [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977556
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	Not Again

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation of "I'm Sorry"

After that night at the gala for work, you had worried that things might be different between you and Marcus. Words that are said cannot be un-said, after all, and your words to Marcus were such a low blow that you cringe every time you remember how they sounded on your lips, how Marcus’ face lost all of its light as your words cut him more deeply than any knife could. The two of you had agreed to put it behind you, and had a sit down heart to heart about what had happened at the party. The talk had ended with both of you in tears, clinging to one another like a life preserver. Hopelessly in love, is what you were.

For a while, it seemed like everything was fine. Marcus would accompany you to company events and would sit back, chatting with the other significant others while you and your coworkers made nice with investors. He did his best to remember your words every time your ex rested his hand on the small of your back when the two of you were making a sale. But the seeds of doubt have already been sewn, and with it the pain at the thought of losing you to the man before him just like he lost Teressa begins to taint his every thought.

Tonight was no different. Another party, this one smaller than the last, a little more casual. He’s dressed in a soft purple button down rolled to the elbows, your absolute favorite color on him, and some black slacks and dress shoes. You had decided to match him, sporting a purple dress that flows down to just past your knees and a pair of off white flats. As you arrive, you give him a quick kiss before you have to go find your boss and figure out who it is you need to make nice with tonight.

“I’ll be back in just a few minutes, babe.” You flash him a wink before you’re walking away from him again, his eyes following you the whole way as a weight settles on his shoulders. He shuffles over to the bar, asking for a beer before he turns to watch the get together. His grip tightens on the bottle as your ex makes his way over to him, a smug smile on his face.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the little FBI puppy. Still at the beck and call of _your_ girl?” The way he says ‘your’ makes Marcus’ blood boil; your ex is mocking him. _He’s just trying to get a rise out of you Marcus, you can handle this._

Marcus slaps on his smile he uses when undercover, fake and cold as he turns to face your ex. “At least I have someone who wants to attend events with me. Where’s your girl again? Oh right,” he takes a sip of his beer before smiling. “You don’t have one. And your last one is living with me now, calling me baby.” Your ex fumes, visibly shaking at Marcus’ taunting.

“Look here you son of a bitch-”

“Marcus?” Both sets of eyes turn to look at you, your brow creased in concern. Last time an encounter like this happened, Marcus had given your ex a black eye. “What’s going on?” You loop your arms around his, looking up at him with those big, beautiful eyes.

“Nothing, honey. Just a little guy talk is all.” Marcus leans down and pecks the tip of your nose, causing you to giggle. Your ex grumbles, shaking his head as he turns to walk away.

Just under his breath, but still loud enough for both of you to hear him, he says, “She’s only sleeping with him as a rebound from me, selfish bitch.” Marcus’ eyes flash with white hot anger and before he can lunge at your ex, you’re dragging him from the party, getting him outside and away from that asshole.

“Marcus. Marcus, look at me!” You cup his cheek, drawing his focus and your heart breaks when you see the tears in his eyes as he looks at you. “Marcus… sweetheart, that isn’t true. Don’t listen to him, okay? You aren’t a rebound, I promise.” Your thumbs gently wipe away his tears as they spill over but he makes no move to hold you like you thought he would. “… Do you want to go home, darling?” He is still for a moment before nodding, casting his eyes down in shame. “Okay, let’s take you home.”

Over the following days, you notice Marcus seems to be retreating back in on himself. He’s grown more quiet, and the gentle caresses that used to flow so freely are growing fewer and farther between, and your heart aches for him. His ex must have really cut him deep, he needed time. You couldn’t subject him to the harsh words of your ex any more, so when the next gala rolls around, you elect not to tell him as you decide to go alone.

“Marcus?” you call as you make your way to the living room, dressed to kill and a royal blue cocktail dress and white denim jacket over your shoulders. His warm chocolate eyes find yours and he sits up a little straighter on the couch, eyebrows raised in confusion.

“You look… nice. What’s the occasion? Did I forget a dinner reservation?”

Your face heats up as you fidget with your dress, guilt working its way into your heart. “I have a gala to attend tonight. I’ll be back around 11.” Marcus stands, his face twisting in confusion and hurt.

“Shit, do we need to leave now? Give me fifteen minutes to get dressed and I’ll be ready, I-” You cut him off with a gentle call of his name.

“I’m going alone this time.” You walk over and take his hand, looking up at him. “11, alright? Don’t wait up for me, I know you have an early morning tomorrow.” Marcus looks at you like a puppy you’ve just kicked, confused and wounded and you sigh, kissing the back of his hand before heading out the door to your event, leaving him standing in the middle of the living room with a breaking heart.

As he listens to the car pull from the drive, he slowly sits back on the couch, eyes still on the door you had just walked out of without him. Your ex’s words play in his head over and over, paired with Teressa’s final words before she ended their engagement for the man who had left her originally. _Oh God, it’s happening again. I’ve lost her… Just like I lost the others._

With tears in his eyes, Marcus slowly makes his way to your shared bedroom and pulls out a suitcase to pack a few changes of clothes. He’d go stay at a hotel nearby while he got his head put back on straight. He just needed time to think. He could figure out what he was doing wrong, and how to fix it. Tears finally spill over, streaking down his face and he furiously brushes them away as he haphazardly tosses clothes into the luggage. 

As you make the drive to the gala, you chew your bottom lip, fingers tapping nervously against the steering wheel. It would be a lie to say you weren’t nervous or concerned about how Marcus had been acting recently. He’s always been such an affectionate person, that to have him pull away like this was one of the most painful things you had ever felt. And the look in his eyes as you told him you were going without him nearly brought you to tears yourself. Your ex had done a number on him this time around, and you had no idea how to fix it. Twenty minutes of mulling over just what to do finds you parked outside the venue, staring at the door. _This isn’t right_ , you think to yourself, so used to having Marcus’ comforting presence beside you. A stone settles in your gut, guilt and anxiety. “This isn’t right.”

Whipping out your phone, you call your boss, fingers still tapping the wheel. “Parker,” comes your boss’ deep baritone.

“Hey boss, it’s me. I need to call in to the gala tonight.” You throw the car into reverse, backing out of your spot before you begin heading home. You needed to see Marcus. Something wasn’t right and you needed to find out what.

“Kid, you’re our biggest asset. You and Justin make a great team.”

“Yeah, and about that. There will be a transfer request on your desk tomorrow, from me. Justin keeps antagonizing my boyfriend and it’s gotten to the point where my entire relationship is in danger of collapsing because of it, and I’m tired of it.” Your boss is quiet, so you continue. “At the last party he accused me of using Marcus as a rebound for him, and given the past my significant other has, it hit home, and now we’re having to pick up the pieces. I’m not having a toxic work environment ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me, respectfully.”

Your boss lets out a deep sigh before responding. “I’ll take care of the Justin issue. You do whatever you gotta do tonight, I trust you called in with a good reason. You’ve never let me down before, so I’ll give you this. We’ll discuss on Monday.”

“Thanks boss. Enjoy the gala.” You don’t wait for a reply, clicking to your contacts and pressing call. It rings four times before you’re sent to voicemail, Marcus’ professional greeting hitting your ear and you frown. He’s never let you go through before unless something was really wrong.

As you pull into the drive, you can see Marcus moving around in the bedroom, occasionally wiping his face. Your heart breaks when you realize he’s crying, and you all but sprint to the door, calling for him as soon as it opens.

“Marcus? Sweetheart?” You toss your purse down, heading to the bedroom to comfort him. You find him, sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking. “Marcus…” You take your seat next to him, resting your hand on his shoulder and he recoils from your touch, a sob tearing from his lips as tears stream down his face.

“N-Not you too,” he cries in a voice so broken that you immediately feel tears prick in your own eyes. Your hand hovers in the air as you sit frozen on the bed, Marcus looking at you like some wounded animal.

“Marcus…?” Your voice is soft and scratchy, thick with unshed tears. “Love, what… what’s wrong?”

“I can’t l-lose you like I l-lost her!” he sobs, curling in on himself as his sobs cause him to shudder.

“I don’t understand! Like who?” You try to inch closer to him, wanting to hold him as he cries, wanting to comfort him, but he just keeps backing away. He gets to his feet, backing himself against the wall as you watch with eyes that are going blurry with tears.

“LIKE TERESSA!” He screams and your heart turns to ice with dread. “G-Going b-back to your ex! Just l-like she d-did! P-Please don’t! Please don’t leave me l-like she left me! I can’t do it a-again.” You knew about what had happened with Teressa, Marcus had told you everything and you harbored a secret hatred against her for what she had done to the love of your life. That only grows as you watch Marcus’ legs give out underneath him, sinking to the ground as he sobs into his hands.

You stand, walking slowly up to him to crouch beside him. “Marcus, I’m not going to leave you, darling. Why do you think that?”

“E-E-Ex. G-Going to the g-gala w-without m-me.” He’s crying so hard, he can barely get the words out. “R-R-Rebound. I-I-’m just a-a -”

“Marcus Pike, don’t you dare finish that sentence, because it’s _not true._ ” disregarding how he tries to pull away from you, you wrap your arms around him to pull him to your chest. “You are _not_ a rebound. I promise you I have no feelings for my ex, save contempt for how he’s helped to break you like this, to cause you to doubt yourself and us. Love of my life, I’m not Lisbon. I’m not going to leave you, the best thing that has ever happened to me, for my douchebag of an ex. Justin can choke for all I care, and I’ve put in a transfer request with my boss to get me out of ever working with him again. I’m not going to let him and his childish behavior ruin what we have.” Marcus trembles in your arms, slowly going limp as he leans into you, trying to control his sobs. You card your fingers through his hair oh so gently, in that soothing way that lulls him to sleep every time he has a rough day at work. “Marcus, I love you, and I only have eyes for you, I promise.” You press a gentle kiss to the top of his head, letting him sit there in your arms, crying out months of pent up worry and fear and doubt.

“I’m so sorry, my perfect love,” you whisper against his hair. “I’m so sorry for my part in this. I should have been more aware. I should have reassured you more, in every way I know how. I should have put this transfer request in sooner. Oh, my love, I’m so sorry.” You nuzzle into his soft brown hair, closing your eyes as tears slowly leak from them, dampening his locks. After what feels like forever, you feel his arms slowly wrapping around your waist, pulling you more tightly against him as his cries slowly quiet. Your arms tighten just a little as you press another kiss to the top of his head.

You feel his lips press to your collar bone before he mumbles against your skin. “I love you… I love you so much… I’m so scared to lose you like I’ve lost in the past, I don’t think my heart can take it again.”

“Marcus, you will never lose me, I promise you that.” You lean back, dropping your hand to have him lift his head to look at you. His eyes are bloodshot and filled with tears that run silently down his cheeks, face flushed from crying. “My beautiful angel of a lover, you’ll never lose me, I promise.” He sniffles before lowering his head, burying it against your neck as you cradle him, finding solace in your gentle caress.

Eventually, you help him to bed, clearing the suitcase that lay half packed at the head of the bed. You don’t ask about it, you don’t need to. You simply put the clothes away and stow the case back under the bed. After getting changed yourself, you crawl into bed with him, pulling him to you. His arms wind around your waist, face pressed against your neck as his stubble tickles your skin. And it is like this, safe in each other’s arms, that you both fall asleep.

When the morning rolls around, you wake before Marcus, calling into the office to let his boss know he was sick today. He didn’t ask any questions, just wished Marcus well and noted he would mark off the paid sick day. You thank him, hanging up before moving to make some coffee to take to him.

Marcus wakes with a jolt when he finds your side of the bed empty. He shoots out of bed, wondering if last night was all a grief motivated dream. Had you gone to the gala after all? Did you even come home? Did… Did you… He can’t bring himself to finish the thought of you going home with that asshole Justin. His feet carry him quickly to the kitchen, his whole being relaxing when he sees you standing there, in one of his shirts, making coffee as you hang up the phone.

“Baby…” he breathes out and you jump, turning around to face him with wide eyes. When you see him, you relax and smile, walking over to wind your arms around his waist. His wrap round you automatically as he looks down at you with swollen eyes. His head is killing him.

“I called in to work for you, sweetheart. I told them you were sick. I’m taking today off too, I just need to drop off my transfer papers with my boss. I’m making us some coffee, and then we can go relax and talk and watch some of those campy soap operas that you love. Okay?” He nods, at a loss for words, unsure of how to explain himself for last night. You let go of him as the coffee finishes, and he follows at your heel, wanting to stay close to you.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, watching you with those big, sad eyes.

“You don’t need to be, Marcus. Last night needed to happen, as painful as it was.” You pull down two mugs, making Marcus’ just the way he likes it with his peppermint mocha creamer before handing it to him with a soft smile. “It showed me just how wrong things are right now.” Marcus’ heart clenches at those words, fear making his blood run cold. “I think we need to go see someone. A couples’ counselor.” You grab your own mug, leaning back against the counter as you sip it.

“A… counselor?” Marcus is dumbstruck at your suggestion, blinking in utter confusion as you nod.

“I think it will help us. We both… have issues that we need to work through, and things we need to improve on as a couple. Marcus, I love you and I want to be with you forever, and to do that we need to be able to address issues like last night before they get to that breaking point.” _Before you think that the only solution is to leave._

He stares down into his mug, thinking it over. He’d done the whole therapy gig with his ex-wife, and it hadn’t made a difference. But then again… it had been his idea, suggested all too late. She was already lost to him by the time they went. Maybe this time would be different. When you call his name gently, worried, he looks back up to you and nods. “Let’s… Let’s do it. If you think it will help us, then we should do it. I want the best for us, and if things keep ending up like last night, then that isn’t the best for us.” You nod, agreeing as you give him a small smile.

“We can look for someone today, after we take some time to ourselves to recoup from last night. How’s that sound?”

“So long as recoup means holding you against me, I think it sounds perfect.” He smiles at you, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. Your eyes flutter shut as he does, opening again to smile at him.

“I love you, Marcus Pike. I always will.” His eyes water at your words and he quickly wipes the tears away, smiling down at you.

“And I love you, forever and always.” He leans down to you, his angel kissed lips finding yours in a gentle, loving kiss.

Things will get better, you will get through this. And you would do it together. 


End file.
